9 Wild Insights We Learnt From Analysing Coles & Woolworths Meal Macros

Everyone has their favourite supermarket. Whether it’s Coles, Woolworths, ALDI or IGA, once you’ve found your fave, you tend to stick to it. We’re humans, we’re creatures of habit. 

Coles and Woolworths, however, are in a league of their own. They’re Australia’s two largest supermarket chains, and claiming that one is better than the other is like trying to decide if Sydney or Melbourne is better. You just can’t do it. Everyone has their own opinions.

However, we’re meal prep enthusiasts, and we wanted to do some data-driven research to determine which supermarket stocked the best ready-made meals. 

We’ve combed through the data – from home-brand Woolies and Coles ready-made meals to dedicated meal provider services My Muscle Chef and Youfoodz, and we found some pretty interesting insights when it comes to which supermarket stocks the best ready-made meal range. 

Wanna find out which supermarket stocks the healthiest, most-macro-friendly ready-made meals?

Read on my friends. But first – some background info. 

Disclaimer: The data used in this blog is based on products found in Coles & Woolworths supermarkets in Melbourne, Australia.

Coles & Woolworths Don’t Stock All the Same Ready-Made Meals

So here’s the thing. Both Coles & Woolworths have their own home brand ready-made meals. See below:

Apart from home-brand ready-made meals, Coles and Woolworths also stock different meals from dedicated meal delivery services such as My Muscle Chef, Fast Fuels, Be Fit Food, Youfoodz and more.

Below is a list of what you’ll find, and where. We’ve only included meal providers you’ll find on mealprep.com.au. 

Most meal delivery services align themselves with either Coles or Woolworths – however, some providers you will find in both supermarkets. 

As you can see, Woolworths has a much larger selection of external ready-made meal delivery providers stocked in-store. 

Coles PerForm Vs Nature’s Kitchen

However, Coles takes it one step further than Woolworths with its home brand range. Coles has an additional two ranges under its umbrella: Coles PerForm and Nature’s Kitchen.

Coles PerForm: Coles PerForm is Coles’ fitness and health range, covering high protein performance meals, high protein bars and protein powders. It’s all about the #gainz.

Nature’s Kitchen: Nature’s Kitchen is Coles’s home-brand plant-based range, with all meals 100% vegan.

Does Woolworths Have its Own Ready-Made Meals Range?

Woolworths does have a range of ready-made meals under the Woolworths brand, but it’s not as broad as Coles’s range which has three separate ready-made collections (Perform, Coles Kitchen & Nature’s Kitchen). 

The Data: How Woolworths & Coles Ready-Made Meals Range Compare 

1. Coles Home Brand Meals Has More Protein on Average Vs Woolworths Home Brand Meals

In the battle of home brand meals, Coles-brand ready-made meals have slightly more protein per 100g on average – 7g of protein compared to Woolworth’s 5g of protein per 100g. Not a huge difference, but hey, every gram counts!

2. My Muscle Chef has 123% More Protein Than Coles Branded Meals, and 201% More Than Woolworths Branded Meals

Here’s where the data really gets interesting – when you start to compare ready-made meal providers to home-brand supermarket meals.

My Muscle Chef, for example, has 123% more protein per 100g than Coles home-brand ready-made meals and a whopping 201% more protein than Woolworths branded meals.

Coles’ branded meals have on average 7.7g per 100g, Woolworths branded meals have 5.7g of protein per 100g, while My Muscle Chef has a whopping 17.2g.

3. My Muscle Chef has 88% MORE Protein Than Youfoodz Meals (But Youfoodz Has Fewer Calories Overall)

In the battle of ready-made meal providers, My Muscle Chef, which you’ll find exclusively in Woolworths, has a whopping 88% more protein per 100g than Youfoodz, which you’ll find only in Coles (17.2g to 9.14g respectively).

However, Youfoodz has 13.75% fewer calories overall (138 cal to MMC’s 160 cal per 100g).

4. The Overall Calories and PCF Split Between Home-Brand Supermarkets Meals is Almost Evenly Split

We already found out Coles has slightly more protein in its meals than Woolworths, but overall, the calories and macros are split pretty evenly.

5. MealPrep.com.au Featured Providers Have More Protein Per Serve Compared to Traditional Brands Stocked in Coles & Woolworths

Fitness Outcomes and My Muscle Chef have more protein in their bolognese ready-made meals compared to Lean Cuisine and McCain’s bolognese.

6. Chicken Ready-Made Meals Are the Most Popular Dishes Sold at Coles & Woolworths

There are on average 166 different chicken dishes sold at Coles & Woolworths, followed by beef with 73, and rice with 65 meals. 

7.  My Muscle Chef Has the Highest Protein Meals You Can Find at Woolworths 

My Muscle Chef’s Chicken Tortellini Boscaiola Chilled Meal 300g is the highest protein ready-made dish stocked at Woolworths.

Meanwhile, Woolworth’s Chargrilled Chicken Dinner Chilled Meal 350g is the highest Woolworths branded ready-made meal.

8. Coles Perform Range Has the Highest Protein Meals You Can Find at Coles (& Its Highest Protein Dish is Vegetarian!)

Interestingly, a veggie dish has the highest protein per meal in the Coles PerForm range. Coles Perform Lean Vegetable Masala And Rice 370g offers the best protein bang for your buck, with 12.5 grams of protein.

9. Finally, On Average, Meals at Coles & Woolies with the Word “Protein” in Them have Nearly 30g of Protein Per Serving

What we mean by this is specific “protein” meals – i.e. ready-made meals with the word protein in them. As you can see below, FroPro Protein Pizza has 25g of protein, while Strength Meals Co’s Slow Cooked BBQ Beef has 34.4g.

Coles, Woolworths or Dedicated Ready-Made Meal Providers?

Alright, we wanna know – where do you buy your ready-made meals? Coles? Woolworths? Or do you have a favourite ready-made meal provider? Let us know in the comments below!